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With coastal communities in New York and New Jersey still reeling
from the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy, the last thing
the area needs is another storm. But that's exactly what it might
get.

A nor'easter is predicted to potentially hit the East Coast next
Wednesday (Nov. 7), and beach erosion experts are concerned about
further damage to shorelines devastated by Sandy.

As
Sandy came ashore, its record surge and pounding waves tore
apart or eroded hundreds of miles of dunes and protective sea
walls along the East Coast. Hundreds of homes and buildings,
which also provided some protection, were destroyed.

The lack of protective dunes and damage to sea walls could lead
to lowland
flooding near the coast, depending on the wind direction and
storm surge from the new storm, even one that isn't expected to
approach Sandy's strength.

"The beaches and sand dunes are the first line of defense for
coastal communities against storm surge and waves. They're going
to take the first brunt of the storms," said Hilary Stockdon, a
research oceanographer with the U.S. Geological Survey in Reston,
Va. [ Infograpic:
Timeline of Sandy's Week of Destruction ]

First line of defense

Many of the sandy beaches along the Atlantic Coast have become
increasingly vulnerable to significant impacts due to erosion
during past storms, including Hurricanes Ida (2009) and Irene
(2011), as well as large storms in 2005 and 2007, according to
the USGS.

Stockdon said Sandy caused extensive erosion to beaches and
dunes. The USGS and other agencies are now running aerial and
ground surveys to assess the damage.

"There are dunes that have been eroded away completely, so now
their protection is gone," Stockdon told OurAmazingPlanet. "That
will make these communities more vulnerable to future storms that
may not be as strong."

Quick repair and restoration of the coast could be essential to
minimizing damage from future storms, whether the one currently
brewing or any others that could develop later in the winter. In
New York, the Department of Environmental Conservation is issuing
emergency permits for storm-related repairs in coastal areas and
wetlands.

Natural repair weakened

Farther north, front-end loaders are already pushing sand back
onto the beach, said Greg Berman, a coastal geologist with the
Woods Hole Institute Sea Grant program in Falmouth, Mass.

During powerful storms like Sandy, surging waves throw sand up
and over the beach, where it remains stuck. The beach can't
restore itself without access to sand. However, this is also a
natural process;
beaches aren't stationary, and their location migrates with
time, Berman told OurAmazingPlanet. "When you push it back onto
the beach, you're circumventing that migration, and it gets
harder and harder to do over time," he said.

Sandy's late October arrival also increased coastal vulnerability
by removing sand that had been naturally stored offshore for
summer beach replenishment, Berman said. During the winter, sand
is stored in sandbars and comes back in the summer. "After Sandy,
instead of going into a nor'easter system at our best, we're
going into it at a weakened condition," Berman said.

Election night downpour

The new storm's path is predicted to move from the Southeast
Tuesday night into New Jersey on Wednesday, said Brian McNoldy, a
weather researcher at the University of Miami.

"It looks like your average Nor'easter that comes in off the
coast," he told OurAmazingPlanet. The forecast is from the same
European computer model that eyeballed the
projected path of Hurricane Sandy. Its precise strength and
route is still uncertain, but the storm will be nowhere near the
level of Sandy's tropical-force winds.

Coastal communities hit by the Frankenstorm will see strong
onshore winds and waves, though whether the storm will come on
land or stay out at sea is still uncertain.

"I think by far the worst impact will be the coastal flooding and
erosion, and that's a concern regardless of how far off the coast
it is. You'll get pretty strong winds and enhanced swells and
waves. I think that's looking pretty certain," McNoldy said.

Beaches on the East Coast have been steadily eroding for 150
years, according to a USGS report released in February 2011. On
average, the beaches in New England and the Mid-Atlanticare
losing about 1.6 feet (0.5 meters) per year. The worst erosion
case was about 60 feet (18 m) per year at the south end of Hog
Island, in southern Virginia.

According to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office, Rockaway Beach
(on a peninsula in New York City's borough of Queens) was almost
completely washed away and the boardwalk was destroyed. Three
beaches on a barrier island off Long Island were also devastated.
Jones Beach was overwashed by ocean, Gilgo Beach's dune system
was almost destroyed, and Ocean Parkway was overwashed. [ Video:
Sandy's Flooding Aftermath ]

In New Jersey, Long Beach Island, a
barrier island and popular vacation spot, sustained severe
damage, with boats and cars tossed into streets and several feet
of sand piled against houses. The island was evacuated before the
storm.

Before Sandy's landfall, USGS scientists predicted different
types of coastal erosion. Collision is when waves attack the base
of dunes and cause erosion. Overwash is when waves and water from
storm surges rush over dunes and carry sand farther
inland. Inundation is when the storm surge floods the beach
and dunes.

Along the Jersey Shore, where Sandy would make landfall,
nearly all — 98 percent — of the coast was very likely to
experience beach and dune erosion, 54 percent was very likely to
overwash, and 21 percent was very likely to be inundated

The south shore of Long Island, including Fire Island
National Seashore, was very likely to experience beach and dune
erosion along 93 percent of the coast and overwash was very
likely to occur along 12 percent of the sandy coast.

On the Delmarva Peninsula, which includes Delaware and parts
of Maryland and Virginia, 91 percent of the sandy coast was
expected to see beach and dune erosion, 55 percent was very
likely to overwash, and there was a high likelihood of inundation
on 22 percent.

Editor's note: This article has
been corrected for the proper location of Gilgo Beach and Ocean
Parkway. They are both on the same barrier island as Jones
Beach.